Stencil applicator



INVENTORS ATTORNEYS 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 DOROTHY W. MASON BY JACK H. MASON D. W- MASON ETAL STENCIL APPLICATOR Sept. 1, 1964 Filed April 9, 1963 Sept. 1, 1964 D. w. MASON ETAL STENCIL APPLICATOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 9, 1963 INVENTORS DOROTHY W. MASON JACK H. MASON ATTORNEYS United States Patent 3,146,703 STENCIL APPLICATOR Dorothy W. Mason, Rte. 1, Box 476, Princess Anne, Va., and Jack H. Mason, Princess Anne, Va. (927-931 W. 21st as, Po. Box as, Norfolk 1, Va.)

F iied Apr. 9, 1963, Ser. No. 271,730 1 Claim. (Cl. 1t)1125) The present invention relates to a stencil applicator and, more particularly, to a hand stencil applicator which carries its own liquid supply of ink and the like.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a stencil applicator or duplicator which is rigid and compact in structure and one which may be readily assembled and disassembled for cleaning purposes.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a stencil applicator of nested parts whereby the entire assembly may be secured together with a minimum of fastening means. i

It is another object of the present invention to provide a hand stencil duplicator provided with an ink or liquid reservoir and distribution means whereby the supply of liquid maintained in the reservoir is thoroughly and properly distributed to all areas of the ink pad.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a stencil applicator having means to facilitate the proper positioning of the stencil thereon and to prevent the stencil from being inadvertently displaced after it is once positioned properly.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a stencil applicator having fastening means for securing nested parts together which fastening means comprise slide fastener members.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a stencil applicator comprising a top plate member and a bottom plate member with cut-out means that will accommodate the ink pad and with a body member disposed above the ink pad and having distribution means for supplying ink to the ink pad which body member is disposed between said top plate member and said bottom plate member, and in which the top and bottom plate members are provided with bent portions along the sides thereof which cooperate and coact with each other so as to form a slide or guide means for receiving clip or clamp means slidably disposed thereon for readily securing or fastening these parts of the stencil applicator assembly together.

Various other objects and advantages of the present invention will be readily apparent from the following detailed description when considered in connection with the accompanying drawings forming a part thereof and in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of the stencil applicator of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is a bottom plan view of the invention;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the line 33 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 2; and

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the applicator of the present invention with certain parts shown in an exploded fashion.

Referring to the drawings, the reference numeral generally designates the stencil applicator of the present invention which is provided with a top plate member 11, a bottom plate member 12, and a diaphragm or body member 13. The top plate member 11 is made of aluminum and consists of a substantially rectangular shaped fiat portion with downwardly extending rims or skirts 14 disposed on opposite sides thereof. The skirts 14 are bent at right angles with the flat portion of the plate and are coextensive with the length of the plate 3,146,703 Patented Sept. 1, 1964 ice member While the opposite ends of the plate member are open. The lower ends of the skirts 14 are provided with a rolled reverse bend or are bent upwardly as indicated at 15 so as to provide a bead or Scam therealong to form a slide or guide means for a clamp member as hereinafter described.

The bottom or lower plate member 12 is substantially of the same construction as that already described for the top plate member 11 and is provided with upturned rim portions 16 or skirts coextensive with the sides of the flat portion of the bottom plate member and also provided with a rolled reverse bend 17 therein. The bends 15 and 17 are disposed in opposite directions so that the recesses 18 formed thereby will provide guide or track means as hereinafter described.

The upper or top plate member 11 is provided with a central opening or aperture therein and has an internally threaded adapter or bushing 19 secured to the underside of the fiat portion by any suitable means and in alignment with the aperture to receive the externally threaded nipple 24) projecting from the liquid reservoir cap 21, as clearly shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. An annular gasket member 22 is disposed on top of the plate member 11 and is mounted on the aluminum nipple so as to form a liquid tight seal between the cap and the upper surface of the top plate member. A ball check valve 23 is disposed in the cap and is adapted to seat on the concave valve seat provided in the cap adjacent the upper end of the nipple 20.

The bottom plate member 12 is provided with a large rectangular opening centrally disposed therein for receiving an ink pad 24 therein which extends therethrough. The ink pad may be formed of any suitable absorbent material such as felt or rubber and is provided along its upper edges with a surrounding laterally extending flange or lip 25 by means of which the pad is secured in place between the upper surface of the bottom plate member 12 and the body member 13. It can also be covered with a porous material such as silk screen or linen and the like if desired.

The body member 13 is made of aluminum material as are all of the other parts of the assembly, except the ink pad and the liquid reservoir, and comprises a rectangular structure with a bottom 26, opposite end walls 27 and opposite side walls 28 to define a chamber 29 therein. The bottom 26 of the body member is provided with a plurality of longitudinal passages or holes 30 extending therethrough and located above the ink pad 24 so as to distribute ink to the stencil in a uniform manner.

The body member 13 is disposed between the top plate member 11 and the bottom plate member 12 as best seen in FIGS. 3 and 4, and is provided with an annular lower gasket 31 and an annular upper gasket 32 extending around the perimeter thereof so as to provide a liquid tight seal with the inner surfaces of the top and bottom plate members when the assembly is securely clamped together.

The side walls 28 of the body member are substantially coextensive with the rims or skirts 14 and 16 of the top and bottom plate members. The skirts 14 and 16 are of sufficient depth or dimension so as to extend approximately half of the depth of the side walls 28' so the skirts are disposed in abutting relationship or in contact with each other when the assembly is properly secured, and enclose and encompass the side walls 28 of the body member, as best shown in FIG. 3.

The liquid reservoir 33 consists of a plastic bottle made of polyethylene or the like with a threaded neck adapted to threadably engage the aluminum cap 21 so as to be connected thereto in a liquid-tight manner. If desired, the cap 21 may be provided with a ring gasket means disposed therein to provide a liquid-tight seal in addition to the resilient material of the plastic bottle.

The top plate member 11 and the bottom plate member 12 and the body member 13 and the ink pad 24 are secured together by elongated clip, clamp or fastener members 34 slidably fastened to the rolled reverse bends 15 and 17 of the skirts 14 and 16, respectively. The clip members 34 comprise a substantially straight section 36 with the opposite ends or edges thereof bent inwardly by rolling or the like to provide reverse bends or seams 37 and 38, respectively, which face in opposite directions and are adapted to slidably engage the reverse bends in the skirts.

Referring to FIG. 3, it is clearly seen that the reverse bend 37 of the fastener member 34 is engaged within the recess 18 of the upper skirt 14 while the reverse bend 38 of the fastener member is engaged in the recess 18 of the lower skirt 16. The resiliency of the gaskets 31 and 32 and the flange of the ink pad permit the clip members to be slidably fastened or connected to the skirts which, in effect, form a track or guide means for sliding the fasteners thereon. The fasteners, of course, are able to be slid on or off either end of the skirts. The fastener members 34 are made of aluminum and are substantially the same length as the skirts 14 and 16.

Vertical end plate members 39 are connected to the opposite end walls 27 of the body member by threaded screws 40 disposed therein as best shown in FIG. 4. The end plate members are made of aluminum and comprise a vertically extending rectangular portion 41 with an outwardly extending horizontal portion 42 reversely bent adjacent the outer edge to provide a downwardly and inwardly inclined portion 43. The portions 43 are provided with centrally disposed openings or slots 44 therein adjacent the inner end or side thereof. A turned up tongue or lip 45 is provided in the portion 43 adjacent the outer end of the slot 44 and extends through the slot for preventing the stencil card or paper from falling or slipping out of position, as hereinafter described.

As best seen in FIG. 4, the portion 42 of the end plate member is disposed in lateral alignment with the bottom plate member 12 while the portion 43 extends below the bottom plate member, and the lower surface or end of the ink pad 24 extends below the lower edge of the inclined portion 43. The end plate members 39 extend beyond the opposite side walls 28 of the body member 13 and overlap the ends of the fastener members 34 as best seen in FIG. 2, so as to prevent the clip members from sliding off either end of the skirts 14 and 16.

A stencil 46 is attached to the stencil applicator by placing it against the ink pad 24 and inserting the opposite ends 47 of the stencil card, which ends are provided with cut-outs 48 therein, into the space 49 provided between the portions 42 and 43 of the end plate members. The card is inserted therein so that the slots 48 of the card are in alignment with the slots 44 in portion 43, and so that the turned-up lip 45 is mounted in the stencil card slot 48 and prevents it from sliding out the sides of the stencil applicator.

From the foregoing description it will be seen that a stencil applicator is provided in which the ink is fed through a nipple into a distribution chamber 29 and through holes 30 to the ink pad 46 with the valve in the reservoir acting to control the flow of liquid to the ink pad.

The provision of a top plate member and a bottom plate member with a body member positioned therebetween, and the reversed bends or rolled seams in the side walls of the top and bottom plate permit them to be fastened together with slide fasteners. Thus, these bends actually form a guide way or track to receive the slide fasteners 36 which have cooperating reverse rolled bends therein that interlock within the recesses formed in the reverse bends in the skirt of the top and bottom plate members so that the stencil applicator can be readily assembled and secured together with a minimum amount of effort and with a simple and compact fastening arrangement.

The present invention further provides means for pre venting the stencil card from accidentally slipping sideways out of the applicator, and the vertical end plate members serve the purpose of keeping the slide fasteners from sliding ofi either end of the top and the bottom plate after the assembly has been secured thereto.

It will also be observed that the plastic squeeze bottle reservoir can be readily dismantled and replaced with other handle means secured to the adapter so that it is not always necessary to use a liquid reservoir with the stencil applicator.

From the foregoing, it is believed that our invention may be readily understood by those skilled in the art without further description, it being borne in mind that various changes may be made in the structure without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as set forth in the following claim.

We claim:

A stencil applicator comprising:

a body member consisting of a rectangular chamber defined by oppositely disposed end walls, oppositely disposed side walls and a bottom with ink feeding apertures therein;

a top plate member disposed on said body member and closing off the top of said chamber, downwardly extending skirts forming oppositely disposed side walls for said top plate member, the lower end of said skirts having a reverse bend therein facing in an upward direction and extending the full length of the sides of the skirts;

a bottom plate member disposed below the bottom of said chamber bottom and having an opening therein, upwardly extending skirts forming oppositely disposed side Walls on opposite sides of said bottom plate member and having a reverse bend therein extending in a downwardly direction, said reverse bends of said top and bottom plate member skirts encompassing the side walls of said body member and forming a guide means;

an ink pad extending through the opening in said bottom plate member and extending below said bottom plate member, an annular flange on said ink pad supported by the upper surface of said bottom plate member and disposed in abutting relationship with the bottom of said body chamber;

clip means substantially coextensive with the side walls of said top and bottom plate members and comprising a straight portion with reverse bends in the op posite side edges thereof facing one another, and adapted to extend into the reverse bends of said top and bottom plate member skirts for slidably fastening the applicator together; and

vertical end plate members engaged and secured to opposite end Walls respectively of said body member, each having a vertical portion which extends between the respective side walls of said body member and overlaps the opposite ends of said clip members, a horizontal portion extending outwardly from said body member, and a downwardly and inwardly inclined portion bent back upon itself with an upturned lip adjacent a slot therein for receiving a stencil card thereon to prevent the card from sliding sideways out of the applicator.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 908,237 Gamble Dec. 29, 1908 1,445,447 Pritchard Feb. 13, 1923 1,468,512 Pritchard Sept. 18, 1923 1,782,877 Madden Nov. 25, 1930 2,911,906 Kiang Nov. 10, 1959 3,003,184 Rosenthal Oct. 10, 1961 

